One day, a man stopped by the Porcelain Museum in Porsgrunn, Eastern Norway.
One of the men in the photo is Anton Johannes Hellerich, Tom Hellerich’s grandfather. He came to Norway from Germany, married, and made a life here.(Photo: Cropped from main image / Porcelain Museum)
"He tossed an envelope on the counter and asked if we wanted the photo inside," says Ann-Kathrin Samuelsen, operations manager at the museum.
Tom Hellerich was clearing out his house and planned to throw the photo away unless the museum wanted it.
The image was a group photo, and his grandfather was in it. That was all he knew about it.
"At first, we had no idea who these men were. But there was a note attached with some names, so we started digging," says Samuelsen.
Annonse
They searched archives and books, got in touch with a genealogist, and read old newspapers.
The turners at the factory
"We found out that the photo was taken in 1911 and shows the turners at Porsgrund Porcelain Factory," says Samuelsen.
Museum favourites
In this series, we ask museum staff to choose one item from their museum. What is their favourite?
The turners were the ones who turned, cast, and shaped the porcelain – into cups, plates, vases, and figurines.
"This is my favourite item in the museum because the photo is surprisingly sharp for its age. I feel like these men could be people I’d pass on the street today," says Samuelsen.
Curious about boats from Porsgrunn
The photo was taken 16 years after the porcelain factory opened.
A businessman from Porsgrunn was at a spa in Germany. Johan Jeremiassen worked in shipping and grew curious when he saw boats from Porsgrunn entering the harbour. It turned out they were bringing minerals from the mines in the Porsgrunn area to the porcelain industry in Germany.
To make porcelain, you need the minerals quartz and feldspar, which are mixed with white clay.
"We don't have that in Norway, here we only have blue clay. Jeremiassen thought the ships could bring white clay back from Germany. That way he'd have everything needed to make porcelain," says Samuelsen.
The first products were fired at Porsgrund Porcelain Factory in 1887.
Among the items crafted by the turners were plates, teapots, tableware sets, sugar bowls, and decorative platters. These products were made between 1887 and 1911.(Photos: Telemark Museum / Collage by Science Norway)
The wealthy wanted porcelain tableware
Porcelain was a new thing in Norway. Before that, people had to settle for coarser, coloured ceramics, like faience and flintware.
Porcelain, by contrast, is white and fired at much higher temperatures. This makes it both thinner and stronger, explains Samuelsen.
Annonse
Ann-Kathrin Samuelsen knows the porcelain factory well. Her mother worked there as a designer until she was five years old. "That's why it feels extra special to be back at the museum," she says.(Photo: Nina Kristiansen)
"The Norwegian middle class embraced porcelain. The factory had orders for complete tableware sets even before production began," she says.
And it was the turners who produced the goods.
Immigrants had the skills
They were migrant workers from the Czech Republic, Poland, Germany, and Denmark. They brought with them the expertise Norway did not yet have in porcelain-making.
"They came here specifically to work at the porcelain factory. Many of them ended up marriying locals," says Samuelsen.
Anton Ambros Johann von Hafenbrädl was one of them. Like many of the foreign workers, he stayed in Norway.
Anton von Hafenbrädl was the factory manager.(Photo: Cropped from main image / Porcelain Museum)
"Von Hafenbrädl is still a common name in this area," says Samuelsen.
Science Norway called one of them.
Came from a long line of glassmakers
Bernt von Hafenbrädl, born in 1947, is Anton's grandson. Bernt's father was one of the 12 children Anton had with Charlotte, née Sørensen from Porsgrunn.
Anton was born in Prague but considered himself German, according to Bernt.
He explains that Anton came from a long line of glassmakers. At their height, the family ran 20 glassworks in Bavaria and Bohemia. They invented new techniques and helped develop Bohemian crystal. Their clients included the Tsar of Russia and the Emperor of Austria-Hungary. Some family members were even knighted for their work, and five became barons, according to local history from Bavaria.
Anton chose to move to Norway.
Became the factory manager
With deep knowledge of glass and porcelain – and a glaze recipe of his own – Anton became a key figure in starting and operating Porsgrund Porcelain Factory. Bernt believes his title was technical manager.
"He received a share of the profits. First a couple per cent, later five per cent," says Bernt.
Anton was forward-thinking. He believed electricity was the future and pushed to install electric kilns at the factory. But the owners resisted, since they had access to cheap firewood and wanted to stick with that.
Bernt never met his grandfather, as Anton died in 1914 at the age of 55.
Sick from the dust
"He died of silicosis, like so many others at the porcelain factory," says Bernt.
Fine porcelain dust settled everywhere. It was worst in the turning shop, according to historian Ellen Schrumpf. The workers were covered in damp dust and breathed it in. No one understood how dangerous it was in the early years, but over time, more and more workers became ill. They developed silicosis, an incurable lung disease.
Bernt’s father also worked briefly at the porcelain factory but left after five years, disturbed by how many of his colleagues were getting sick and dying.
Bernt chose a different path, working in another industry in Porsgrunn. Still, his connection to the family craft remains strong – he owns a full porcelain set in the iconic blue straw pattern, enough for 20 guests, and plenty of glassware.
Bernt von Hafenbrädl has visited the place where his great-grandfather came from several times. "I met a researcher who had spent years studying the Hafenbrädl family and their role in German glassmaking history," says Bernt, who received a book chronicling the family's work over the centuries. He was warmly welcomed in Bavaria, where the Hafenbrädl name is still well known.(Photo: Private)
The handle boys
The young boys in the photo dropped off at the Porcelain Museum were known as handle boys. They started working at just 13 years old.
"The handle boys cast the handles for the cups," says Samuelsen.
At the time, school was every other day. The rest of the week, the boys worked at the factory.
"They earned half an adult wage, which was considered very good pay," she says.
The teamwork between handle boys and turners had to be strong. The turner paid for their own materials and were only paid for the finished products.
"They often worked at the factory for generations," she says.
Karl Henrik Alfred Tranberg came from Denmark. He married Amanda, a Norwegian porcelain packer. Three of their sons became turners and appear in the photo. A fourth son worked in another department, and later, four grandchildren were also employed at the porcelain factory.
Karl Henrik Alfred Tranberg and three sons worked as turners. The third from the left later founded the Pors football team.(Photos: Porcelain Museum / Collage by Science Norway)
"They brought their own culture with them. Many were passionate about physical fitness and founded what is now Pors Football," says Samuelsen.
Several also played instruments.
"So they started a band, which was called Porselensmusikken (Porcelain Music)," says Samuelsen.
The band still exists today under the name Vestsidens musikkorps (Vestsiden's Music Corps).
The foreign turners were Catholics. The first Catholic parish in the area was founded in 1889, and the Church of Our Lady of Good Council in Porsgrunn was completed ten years later.
"When workers became ill, nuns cared for them. That was the beginning of hospital services in Telemark," says Samuelsen.
The Sisters of St. Joseph opened a hospital in Porsgrunn in 1892.
Too simple for the director
Andreas Kornelius Kittelsen from Porsgrunn started as a handle boy at age 13. He died of silicosis at 78. His great-grandchild has worked as a turner right up to the present.(Photo: Cropped from main image / Porcelain Museum)
The foreign workers trained Norwegians in porcelain craftmanship.Over time, half the workforce was Norwegian.
The fortunes of the Porsgrund Porcelain Factory rose and fell.
In the beginning, they sold very well to wealthy families who wanted hand-painted porcelain sets with monograms, custom colours, and unique shapes.
"But there weren't many wealthy people in Norway, so the market quickly became saturated. Besides, porcelain sets don't break easily. They get passed down for generations," says Samuelsen.
When Jeremiassen died, his wife Serine was not allowed to run the factory alone. As a woman, she needed a male partner. Her brother, Gunnar Knudsen, stepped in with a different approach.
"He wasn't as elitist. He shifted production to simpler designs and printed decorations. That lowered the cost and expanded the market," says Samuelsen.
This change led the German director to resign. The new products were too low-class for his taste.
In 1909, the porcelain factory made its first Christmas plate. It became a collectible. "People thought they would increase in value, but today they're worth nothing," says Ann-Kathrin Samuelsen.(Photo: Telemark Museum)
Porcelain fell out of fashion
Gunnar Knudsen, who would later become Prime Minister of Norway, also began producing more practical items, such as porcelain fuses.
After World War II, the factory expanded into making toilets, urinals, and sinks, which provided steady income.
But in the 1960s and '70s, tastes changed. Porcelain became something only grandmothers had. Ceramics became fashionable.
"Even though the factory brought in artists and ceramicists, they couldn't keep up with the new trend," says Samuelsen.
Then came a new golden age.
"During the Lillehammer Olympics in 1994, Porsgrund Porcelain Factory was the main supplier of souvenirs," she says.
At its peak, the factory employed over 750 workers.
Today, only eight workers remain in Norway. They make hand-painted porcelain, Christmas plates, and custom orders. Most production has been moved abroad, to Romania, Sri Lanka, and Singapore.
